NATIONAL LIBERATION AND BOLSHEVISM RECONSIDERED – A VIEW FROM THE BORDERLANDS

In the run-up to  the centenary of the October Revolution in Russia, talks and seminars have been arranged and new books and articles have been published. Some of this work has been done to uphold old orthodoxies, but there has also been more critical work looking at the Russian Revolution in the  wider context of…

THE CATALAN REPUBLIC

In the aftermath of the Catalan referendum, Steve Freeman emphasis the republican aspect of the struggle.   THE CATALAN REPUBLIC     Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, took a cautious line on Catalan independence. She hoped that “dialogue will replace confrontation”. She called for a way forward that “respects the rule of law” and also…

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL and DON’T ABANDON THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE

In the first posted article article Pink Floyd performer, Roger Waters, highlights the attempts being made to close down the increasingly successful Boycott, Divestment and sanctions Campaign in the USA. In the second  article, Tony Greenstein provides an analysis of what is going on the Labour Party over Palestine. Despite the change of leadership under Jeremy Corbyn,…

DURHAM MINERS’ GALA – BIG MEETING GETS BIGGER

The 133rd Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday 8th July will see some 150,000 march through the ancient city. Dave Douglass, ex-miner and author of Stardust and Coaldust autobiographical trilogy looks at its  history and the ongoing significance.   BIG MEETING GETS BIGGER     A day of looking back and looking forward Crowds are now back to…

NO G20, NO UK – SCOTLAND GOES TO HAMBURG

The SSP was involved in leading the socialist opposition to the G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005. Connor Beaton is currently representing the Scottish Socialist Party at the anti-G20 protest in Hamburg. Here is his report posted on the SSP blog. (https://scottishsocialistparty.org/no-g20-no-uk-scotland-goes-hamburg/)   NO G20, NO UK – SCOTLAND GOES TO HAMBURG   The Scottish Socialist Party is proudly supporting and participating…

TWO REVOLUTIONS?

Steve Freeman reports on the politics displayed at the Left Unity Party’s conference held on June 24th in London. This was first published as a letter in Weekly Worker (http://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1162/letters/)   TWO REVOLUTIONS? On June 24, Left Unity members met in conference to consider the way ahead in the next period. Members are aware of…

ADDRESS TO THE LEFT UNITY CONFERENCE ON JUNE 24th

Allan Armstrong was delegated at the RISE National Forum held in Edinburgh on 8th April to be its representative at the LUP conference on May 20th. Due to the General Election this was postponed to June 24th. Attached is the full version of the talk he prepared for the conference held in London. In the…

DEMOCRACY BURNS DOWN

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy we are posting two articles by contributors to the Republican Socialist Alliance blog. The first is by Steve Freeman (LUP and RISE). The second is by Phil Vellender (Labour Party and contributor to Chartist)    1. DEMOCRACY BURNS DOWN The terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower is a crime against…

RIC-EDINBURGH STATEMENT ON THE JUNE 8TH GENERAL ELECTION

The Radical Independence Campaign- Edinburgh has produced the following statement in response to forthcoming Westminster General Election.     Theresa May’s forthcoming general election is not a normal election. It is being called in defiance of the Tories’ own 2011 Fixed Term Parliament Act. It bears a strong resemblance to a presidential-style plebiscite. But in…

TURKEY – IT’S NOT OVER YET

This article by Even Uslu, a Turkish communist, exposes the fraud  involved in Recep Erdogan’s recent referendum designed to concentrate power in the Turkish Presidency. TURKEY – IT’S NOT OVER YET THE AKP GOVERNMENT IS IN CRISIS FOLLOWING THE RIGGED REFERENDUM  Celebrating amid the fraud The shambles that followed the April 16 referendum to amend the constitution…